HIRA Launches Benefit Management Based on 'Real Clinical Evidence', Holds Public Hearing on System

The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) and the Korean Association for Cancer Chemotherapy announced on the 17th that they will hold a public hearing on "Performance-Based Drug Reimbursement Management Using Real-World Data (RWD) and Real-World Evidence (RWE)" on the 20th at the Grand Auditorium of the Biomedical Industry Research Institute, Catholic University of Korea, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

Exterior view of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service headquarters in Wonju, Gangwon Province
[Photo by Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service]

RWE refers to literature that collects and statistically analyzes RWD such as health insurance claims data, hospital medical records, surveys like "quality of life assessments," and post-marketing drug surveillance data.

This public hearing was organized to share the results of RWD and RWE research conducted over the past five years by the Korean Association for Cancer Chemotherapy and HIRA, and to gather opinions from various sectors on the use of RWD- and RWE-based drug reimbursement management guidelines.

The presentations will proceed in the following order: ▲ Professor Maeng Chi-hoon of Kyung Hee University College of Medicine with "Evaluation Study on the Effectiveness and Safety of Drugs for Advanced Gastric Cancer Using Domestic RWD," ▲ Professor Ahn Jung-hoon of Ewha Womans University Convergence Health College with "Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Study of Drugs for Advanced Gastric Cancer Using Domestic RWE," and ▲ Deputy Researcher Byun Ji-hye of HIRA with "RWE Guidelines for Performance-Based Drug Reimbursement Management."

After the presentations, a discussion will be held chaired by Lee Jung-shin, Chair of HIRA's Drug Evaluation Committee. Panelists including Professor Jang Dae-young of Hallym University College of Medicine (President of the Korean Association for Cancer Chemotherapy), Seo Dong-chul, Director of the Drug Policy Research Institute, Professor Han Eun-ah of Yonsei University College of Pharmacy, Oh Chang-hyun, Director of the Health Insurance Drug Policy Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Yoo Mi-young, Director of HIRA's Drug Management Office, will participate to share opinions and discuss performance-based drug reimbursement management using RWD and RWE.

HIRA President Kang Jung-gu stated, "Since 2019, HIRA has been conducting research to explore the feasibility of concretizing drug reimbursement management using RWE to enhance patient access to high-cost anticancer drugs and rare medicines." He added, "We hope this public hearing will serve as an opportunity for reimbursement management using RWE to expand and develop from drugs to future coverage of therapeutic devices and procedures."